“(1) Before any direct deduction order under Schedule 5 is made, the Secretary of State has a duty to consider its effect on any person (‘P’) who—

(a) is a victim of domestic abuse, or

(b) the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be at risk of domestic abuse,

where P shares a joint account with a liable person believed to be the perpetrator or potential perpetrator of domestic abuse.

(2) In this section ‘domestic abuse’ has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.”—

Brought up, and read the First time.

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

I start by acknowledging the hard work of Surviving Economic Abuse in this policy area. I thank that charity for its briefing, which I am sure it has shared with all Committee members. The charity and the Liberal Democrats are keen to make sure that domestic abuse, particularly where it plays out in relation to joint accounts, is on the face of the Bill, so that it is taken very seriously.

I can almost hear the Minister’s voice saying that DWP officers are well trained to deal with vulnerable claimants, but it is extremely important to put domestic abuse on the face of the Bill. Domestic abuse is a very wicked issue in my Torbay constituency, and I am sad to say that Torbay is not alone in it being a serious challenge in people’s households. I hope the Government will take this seriously and support the new clause, so we would like to press it to a vote in due course.

The Conservatives—the official Opposition—share the Liberal Democrats’ view that it is vital that we use different Departments across Government to tackle domestic abuse and domestic violence. We have a really strong track record of doing that in government.

In principle, the new clause seems like a good idea. I am conscious that we need to ensure that the Bill does not exacerbate or create problems for victims and put them even more at risk. I have done a lot of work on violence against women and girls away from this place, and I am conscious of how tricky it can be to prove some of these things. I wonder whether there might be other ways to achieve the same outcome. I assume that is why the Government are not able to support the new clause.

The new clause includes language such as “potential” and “believed to be”. My gentle challenge is about whether it could be worded differently, as we go forward to other stages, to make it more achievable and deliverable, and something that would have a place in the Bill. As it stands, I am not sure that would be the case, but I am interested to see this issue debated further, because the official Opposition share the commitment to tackling domestic abuse and domestic violence.

We have reached the stage in Committee at which the hon. Member for Torbay can second-guess my comments. He will be as pleased as I am that this is the last of the new clauses for debate, but it is a very serious one.

New clause 17 seeks to place a duty on Secretary of State to consider the impact of a proposed direct deduction order where a person is a victim of domestic abuse, or officials reasonably believe they are at risk of domestic abuse, and they share an account with a perpetrator of that abuse. I share the hon. Member for Torbay’s view that, where the new recovery powers are exercised, there should be a consideration of whether there is evidence of domestic abuse. However, I do not believe the new clause reflects the right approach. The DWP understands the importance of supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse, and has existing guidance, processes and operational best practice for supporting them.

The new clause would apply to both debtors and non-debtors, and would not require the DWP to take any steps to identify possible victims. Subsection (1)(a) would place a duty on officials to consider the impact any time a person was a victim, even when the DWP did not and could not have known that that was the case. Subsection (1)(b) would imply a duty to assess whether there was reason to believe the person was at risk of domestic abuse but, as the hon. Member for South West Devon suggested, in many cases the DWP will not be in a position to make that assessment. That would put officials in a difficult, if not impossible, position.

As the direct deduction powers will be used as a last resort where multiple attempts to engage with the debtor to arrange a voluntary, affordable and sustainable repayment plan have failed, we anticipate that the DWP will know very little about the debtor’s current circumstances, unless it had been made aware previously or there were clear identifiable risk factors. We are working closely with charities, some of which the hon. Member for Torbay will have heard from, to help to identify those risks, as I will outline.

Where a joint account holder could be at risk of domestic abuse but is not the debtor, we are unlikely to have ever had direct dealings with them prior to the power being used. Unless we were directly notified, it is unlikely we would have the information necessary to form the reasonable belief that they were at risk, and much less likely that we could identify all the cases where the person was experiencing abuse. I do not, therefore, agree that a placing a legal duty on officials in this way is the right approach.

We are committed to continuing to support victims of domestic abuse whenever they interact with the Department, which is why we are working with charities such as Surviving Economic Abuse, which is dedicated to advocating for women whose partner has controlled their ability to acquire, use and maintain economic resources. SEA is supporting the drafting of the code of practice to ensure that robust safeguards are in place and to encourage engagement specifically from those who are vulnerable, including victims of domestic abuse. Although SEA works with women, the principles will apply to all victims and survivors of domestic abuse.

Frontline debt management staff already receive training for their role, including on assessing affordability, discussing hardship, and identifying and dealing with vulnerable customers. As we have heard, a specialist debt enforcement team will exercise the new recovery powers, and it will be governed by a code of practice. As explained, we will consult on the draft code of practice, and I welcome further views as part of the wider public consultation.

Finally, I note that paragraph 6(1)(b) of schedule 5 already imposes a broad duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that the amount of any deduction is

“fair in all the circumstances.”

That would include consideration of the impact on a victim of domestic abuse, as the hon. Member for Torbay seeks in the new clause, where the relevant context and circumstances are known to the Department. I hope that reassures the hon. Member that his concerns are already addressed in the Bill, and that the DWP takes domestic abuse seriously and will continue to do so when exercising the new recovery powers.

I would like to press the new clause to a vote.

Question put, That the clause be read a Second time.

The Committee divided: Ayes 6, Noes 9.

Question accordingly negatived.